The evidence is the clearest indication yet of how the
government intends to link Private Manning’s alleged leaks to
aiding al-Qaeda and terrorism.

Manning, 25, is accused of the largest unauthorized
disclosure of confidential documents in history and
charged with "aiding
the enemy," which refers to "knowingly giving intelligence to
the enemy through indirect means."

The government indicated to Judge Army Col. Denise Lind
that it had “digital media found during the UBL raid.” There was
a “letter from UBL to Al Qaeda requesting a member gather
[Defense Department] information.” A response to that letter had
CIDNE reports—war logs from Iraq and Afghanistan—and State
Department cables attached. Bin Laden had these in his
possession “at the time of the raid.”

The potential damage to U.S. national security likely contributed
to the
harsh and illegal
pretrial detainment of Manning. But defense
witnesses will
argue that the material Manning allegedly gave WikiLeaks was
relatively low-grade and outdated information that could not
“aid the enemy” as the government alleges.

Shane notes that the Justice Department is
carrying out an investigation of WikiLeaks to determine
whether Assange or his associates can be charged with a crime
such as "aiding the enemy." He adds that prosecuting WikiLeaks
would set a "dangerous precedent for news organizations
like The Times that frequently obtain and publish information the
government considers classified."

Glenn Greenwald of The Guardian argues that the government's
"aiding the enemy" argument "applies to virtually every
leak of classified information to any media organization, thus
transforming standard whistle-blowing into the equivalent of
treason."

Manning's trial, which is expected to take about six
weeks, has been postponed until at least June 3 to
allow consideration of classified information that may be
used. Manning would likely face life without parole if
convicted on all
22 charges.